Process of locating prescriptive characteristics of a lens



c. c. ALLEN 1,873,249

PROCESS OF LOCATING PRESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A LENS Aug, 23, 1932.

Filed Feb. 16, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet l avwentoz wigl 70 76 a l QQNQEL C. C. ALLEN Aug. 23, 1932.

PROCESS OF LOCATING PRESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF LENS Filed Feb. 16, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 awuemtoz ('Zile (111211 c. c. ALLEN 1,873,249

PROCESS OF LOCATING PRESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A LENS Aug. 23, 1932;

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 16, 1929 immwm 625% C mien Patented Aug. 23, 1932 (31.11.12: 0. ALLEN, or souirnnninen, MAssecHrrsE'r'rs, Assrenonmoje vrneioen; orrrcer.

COMPANY, or SOUTHBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, A VOLUNTARY AssocrArrou or MASSACHUSETTS n r rnoonssoriooe'rmernnscnrrrivis cmmcmmemsoe A time i Application-filed Fe ruar 16, 1929. Serial in. 340,558.

This invention relates to improvements in.

a process for locating the prescriptive characteristics of a lens, and particularlyo'f 'lo eating said prescriptive characteristics'preparatory to surfacing the lens to the said prescriptive characteristics. This processis particularly adapted for use with my lens marking machine forming the subject matter of my co-pending application, Serial No. 1 340,559, filed February 16,1929.

- either for the optical orgeonietrio centerin conjunction with means for designating the cylinder orprlsrn axis or both in prescriptlve relation to other components of the prescription and also with reference to an ad acent. iieldoi a multifocal lens.

Another object of theinvention is toprovidenew and inproved'ineans for attaching a lens holder to the lens blank so marked for finishing the second side of said lens blank with special reference to the prescribed cylinder axis. V I

Another objectof the'inventionis to pro-.

vide improved means for securinggreater accuracy in therelation each to the other of the prescribed components of ophthalmici lenses by providing optical and mechanical means for securing this result within much smaller tolerance limits than heretofore and r the consequent production of such lenses with 3 a degree of 'accuracy'whiclipractically'conforms to the prescription.

Another object of the invention is to pro vide improved means by which the dimensional and positional features for the lens may cc-observed and located under magnifion which the lens maybe blocked for grind ing without removing; the lens for said blocking operation, thereby insuring the properpositioning of the lens for grinding; opera tions without'losing the alignment obtained in the locating process. p l Another object of the invention is to pro vide an improved separable lens holder for the locating and registering device; l f Another object oftheinv'ent'ion is to pro:-

vide improved meansfor-inai'king the lens blank when held in position-in the locating andregistering device.

Another object of the invention is to pro:

vide an improved-chart tor locating the po siti'onal features'of the lens without parallax. Another object of the inventionis to pro vide improved means in th'e lens holder. 7 u H 1 Another objectof-theinvention is top-r0 vide improved chart andprotractor means.

for'the locating"and registering device;

Another objector the invention is to pro'-' vide improved inean'slof illuminating the chart 01" the lo 1g and registering device. Another obgect of the invention is to pro; vide improvedineans for inalzinginore visible the segment of a multifocaliens- Another object ot'the inren' vide improvedg neans for I inking the pens "of the marking meansoffsaidregistering and locating device; 7 Y Another object thefinventionisto provide ani nproved process for" locating the positionalfeatures of a lens for registering} said features t'here'on and forbioclzing the said lens fi'for'suri'acing Without losingfthe' alignments so found.

Uther objects and advantegesof the havenfor clampingthe lens.

tion will become apparent fron the following.

description taken inconnection -With the accompanying drawings, and it will be apparent that many changes may be nlade in the details of construction, arrangement of partsand .steps of the process withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention" as expressed in the accompanying claims. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the eXact' arrange ments, details ofconstruction and. steps of the process shown-and" described as the preferred screen; 4 c

Fig. VI [shows the scale chart and the test,

' ment of the lens holder to a blank marked as Fig. III is a cross sect-ion o'n li'neIII-III v of Fig. I; s

' FigIV is a face View of the scale chart;

Fig. V is a front View of the test object object as seen througha multifocal lens Fig. VII is a face'view of theiedge blank showing'certain calibration points with relation to the margin thereof;

Fig. VIII isa perspective view illustrating the positioning of a lens blank on the lens holder i Fig. IX is a cross section on line IX-IX of Fig. VIII;

Fig. X is a partial perspective showing the lens holder, the lens clamp, themarking device and the eyepiece;

F ig. XI is a front view of the lens holder support;

Fig. XII is aside View of Fig. x1; 7 Fig. XIII is a front view of the lens holding means.

geometr c center, eachin prescribed relation In the marking of semi-finished ophthalmic lens blanks it has heretofore been the usual practice for the operator to place the blank 7 upon a protractor and to manually mark upon its finished surface the axis of such cylinder 7 or prism as may be'prescribed, together with eating by calibration the lens thickness, prism axis, the position of either the optical or, the

one to the other and to an adjacent field of a multifocal lens when present. The line of joinder between twofadjacent fields of a multifocallens is usually invisible when so placed upon a'protractor. It has heretofore been the practice to experimentally find a location such as the margin of a lamp shade,

otherwise mark along this line in order to identify it when placedupon the protractor,

and also to placea dot at either the geometric center of such field or upon a line passing vertically through its center for the urpose of securing the prescribed difference etween vertical lines passing through the respective geometric centers'of two adjacent fields. In this procedure two factors serve to render impossible such uniform degree of accuracy as is necessary foraccurate prescription work within a predetermined tolerance;

The first comprised the manual nature of the operations which render impossible uniform results within small-tolerances by reason of varying conditions of health,,m0od, fatigue or the like of the operator; thesec- 0nd was due to the presence of parallax when the line of vision of the operator was other than perpendicular to the plane of the protractor, with the result that markings placed correct position to. an incorrect position which appeared to be correct by reason of the parallax present. I V 7 Furthermore, it must-be understood that the axis of, a prescribed cylinder must lie at its proper angularrelation to' other compo nents of theprescription and thatthe attachallel to the cylinder axismark upon the lens blank and manually moves the holder to a position above the lens blank from whence operator endeavoring during this movementto maintain the parallelism of the holder and upon the lens blank were displaced from their lens axis which existed before moving the holder over the lens blank. Serious errors in regard to cylinder axis constantly occur under this procedure, chiefly by reason of the lens blank and its axismarking being cover-ed and hidden from view in placing the holder upon theblank so that the operator proceeds more byfeel and guess work than otherwise. i 1 7 Prior art'methods were subject to error in the angular relationship of the cylinder axis to other components of the lens pre scriptionby reason of the manual methods employed and cannot result in a'uniform output of that degree of .precision required in accurate prescription work. As a result a finished lens surface is often found upon 111- spection to be incorrect as to cylinder axis and an eflort is made to rectify the error by re-blocking and resurfacing the lens. The inevitable result of resurfacing a lens surface is loss of time and loss by breakage, grinding into the fused surface of a lens blank o f 1 the fused type or the like which often'causes' loss of the lens blank and necessitates the ex pense of another blank, together with the ex- 7 V pense of finishing its surface.

:It is, therefore, one of the prime objects of my invention to provide means which the positional features of the lens maybe accurately located and registered upon the; lens and then the lens blocked in position-for surfacing without losing the alignments of the positional features so found and determined to the end that the finished lens will conform obtainable in the prior art, particularly in the holder is lowered upon theblank, the 9 I lensholder which may be used for-aligning the lensior blocking, a clearlyfdiscernible protractor plate, an illuminated chart system, an illuminated test obj ect, and means for blocking the lensin aligned position.

The eyepiece 1 is carried by the arm .2 supported by the rod 3 which is attached to the base 4. r The eyepiece lis shown in cross section in Fig. II and consists of a tube or 1 ferrule 5 having the peep opening 6, the said ferrulebeing inserted in the opening in the support of the eyepiece. The inner end, of the ferrule 5 carries the eyepiece lens 7. The ferrule is held iii-place in the support by means of the screws 8.v The lens ,7 of the eyepiece 1 is located at its focal length from the scale chart 9 which will be described hereafter. e A v The marking device comprises a slide 10 which slides back and forth substantially parallel to the optical axis 11 of the instrument, on a slideway supported on the block 12 carried bythe'rod 8. The slide 10 is resiliently urgedjtowards the support 2 by the spiral spring Apivot bar 14 issecured to the slide 10 and is provided withthe pivots 15, one on each end of the bar 14: which pivotallv connect the pencarrier 16. The pen carrier is resiliently urged bymeans ,of a.

spiral. spring 18 to cause the pens 17 to contact with the inking pad 19;

The operating arm or handle 20 is attached to the pen carrier 16 so thatthe pen. carrier may. be rotated on its pivots 15. Through the handle 20 is a set screw. 21 so adjusted that when the point of the set screw comes in contact with the pivot bar 14; the pens. are substantiallyparallel with the axis 1110f the instrument and lie substantially in the plane oi that axis. Furthermore, the point oi the.

central pen must be coincident with 'the axis 11. e t

Securedto the pivot bar 14- is a ratchet member 22pivoted at 23130 the arm 2e secured to thejpivot bar 14. A ratchet wheel 25 is mounted on the inking pad 19 axially therewith and engages the ratchet member 22. It will be seen, therefore, that when the slide 10 is reciprocated theink pad 19 will be rotatedwhenthe slide is receding from the eyepiece by means of the engagement of the ratchet '22 with the ratchet wheel 25. This rotation of the ink pad insures that" the pens 17 will always engage a fresh point on the pad.

he lens holder support 29 ;isf rotated the annular flange 28 by means of thehandle 32 which has an ofiset. portion33 secured-to the arcuate member 30. Two 7 positioning pins B lare located inthe support 29. .These two. pins are diametrically arranged-inn plane containing the axis 11 of the instru-' ment. I v} I The lens holder plate 35is annularin shape and has openings to fit over the pinsi34c;by. which the plate 35 maybe locatedin' ;p o s i-.

tion on the'support29. Preferably line with the openings fitting. over the: pins 93d and on the outer surfacethereofisthelaxls. line 86. Pivotally 'mountedonthe lens hold 7 er plate 35uare'the 'clam'p-arms37 pivoted at.

38. Theclamparms STareof thin springy material. lit;the pivotal point38 is a spaceri member 39 separating the'arms3 7- from the" plate 85. On the inner ends-'ofthe arms 37 are clip members 40 adapted to engage the outer surface and edge ofthe lens tobeheld.

inplace onthe lens holder plate 35'. The

arms 37 are operated means of the handle lladjacent the outer ends of thearmsi'3if. It will be noted that each of these arrnsis.

lens on the lens holder. please after it "has; beennpositioned within the linoits Oftl'lQSlI-P}; porting parts of the arms. Theoper-ation of these arms giving independentadjustment for each arm is contr-adistinguishedfrom a.

universal jaw clamp where all ofthe arms operate in unison, and in which a round blank; would be centrallyheld with respectto the axis thereof. It 'willrbe seen that the plate.

independently operated andMwi-llQhold the 35 m y beremcved from tlie plate 29. SimplyL by pulling it off of the pins. V On the side of the support 27 facing-the marking device is secured the protractor plate 42 in fixed relation to :the support 27il It will be noted in Fig. I that the protracton' plate is divi dedinto' degrees,onehundredan'd eighty degrees ofthe'plate being dividedofi as shown. g g r i a On the bracket 26is a bearing. ring 48, into'' which is fitted a tube l li extending through the annular support plate 27 and thelens holder support 29, the said. tubular. member ttbeing arranged axially with the axial line- 11 of the instrument. I Adjacent the lens? holder plate 35 is the scale chart 9 dividedofiw as shown in Fig. IV. Within the tube to-th'e;

rear of the scale chart ,9'are the -co'ndensing; v

lenseseti and 46 .whose functionzisto provid an even illumination over the chart 9. In the tube to the rear of the condensing lens 46 1s the'test object 47 which maybe a piece of woven wire mesh between the two glass plates 1 48 and 49. One of these plates, preferably the one next to the illuminant, may be of colored glass to reduce color aberration of the lens system and of the le'nsbeing examined in the instrument. This colored lens may be placed anywhere in the system between the illuminant and the eye of the observer. 7 The screen and test object are shownin Fig. V. To the rear of the testobject and carried by the "support 50, secured to the tube 44 is the i illuminant or lamp 51 connected, with a source ofelectric power by the leads 52. This lampshould preferably be a frosted or opal glass to furnish diffused illumination.

While I have described the condensing lenses id 45 and 46 ascondensing lenses, at the'same time they function asobjective lenses in pro- I jecting an image of the test object 47 to a position beyond the eyepiece" 1 and behind the eyeof theobserver. Stops 53-are provided 26 on the back of-the annular support plate 27 to engage the section 33 of the handle 32 so that the axis mark 36. on the plate 35 will be brought into alignment with the 180 or zero making on the protractor. 1

$0 The lens is clamped against the lens holder slide mamber 58 which engages the springarm 59,. The spring arm 59 is operated by,

I means of the lever 60 which in turn operates the cam 61. When ;.the lever arm 60 is thrown down substantially parallel with the arm the contact 54 is withdrawn from the lens and the spring islocked in that position.

When thehandle is withdrawn from its parallel position the spring arm. 59 pushes down the contact face 54 to its operative position. The stops 62 engage a pin'on the back of the plate 27 to stop the arm 55in one position where thecontact 54 is concentric with the axis of the instrument and the other to hold it in thrown-out position away from theaxial lineof the instrument.

A'fter'the lens has been placed in the lens holder plate 35 properly located and adjustedand marked the lens holder plate 35 with the lens in position may be removed from the instrument and placed on a supporting member 63, Fig. IX,'having the pins 64 fitting in the .openings in the plate 35 which formerly fitted over the pins 34 in'the instrument. The support 63 is carried by the supporting member 65 having the pin 66, which pin-is tapered at 67 and fits into the inner side'of the support 63. Pivoted to the support65 at 68 on op 1 posite sides of the support 65'are the parallel separated members or arms 69 which are diametrically arranged and contain the plane w of the axis-of the support63f A lens holder to be coincident with OIPELI'ELllBLiJOT'thQ de sired cylinder axis of the lens, which inturn member 70 having arms 71 is placedover the j is coincident with or parallel to the axis line h '36 on the plate 35. In other words, the lens i holder is positioned on the lens in the proper I axial alignment by these mechanical means.

The lens holder 70 isse'cured to the lens by means of pitch 72'; or other cem'entitious' means. 1 r 5 It will be seen that with thelarrangement just described thelens holder maybe placed centrically upon the lens blank when the lens blank occupies any position with reference to the axis 11 of the instrument, that is to say whether the lends blank be centrically placed upon the holder plate 35 or otherwise. After the lens holder has been properly secured to the'lens the holder may be placed in a lens grinding machine; and the surface of the lens puton in the usual prior art manner. w g I Referring to Fig. VII, .thelens holder 70 is shown in outline somewhat in the shape of a Maltese cross Thegeometrical center of the lens blank is indicated at 7 5. The points 74 arethe positional points which have been put onthe lens in. the centering device. The desired center of the finished lens is indicated at*73,'which is eccent'ricto the point 75. The

points 74 are equi-distant from the-point 7'3.

The margino'f the lensblank is concentric with the point 7 5. In the margin of the lens blank I have cut the notches 76 simply by grinding therein on the edge o f agrindstone. 5

These notches are of a depth so that referring to the horizontal meridian'the' distance from the point 74 to the edge of the'lens on the left hand side will be equal to the distance tical meridian. These marginal points, that is, the edge point that has been groundin', now

' from they point 74' to thee dge 76 on the right hand side and in the same sense in the ver-' serves as calibration points for positioning the lens center at 73. These points are also useful in determining the edge thickness, center thickness, centration or amount of prism. It is essential that these points he equi-distant from the desired central point of the lens 73. I

Referring to" Fig. IV, the scale chart 9- consists of a number of lines parallel to: the 7 horizontal axis and parallel to the vertical axis. These lines are spacedat such a dis tance relative to each other as to give a sepa- V i the holder plate 35 and approximately axially with the horizontal axial line of the instrument. The lens, it will beunderstood, has

7 one side finished and this finished side-is previously been turned on. Upon viewing thescale 9 through the peepon the side nearest the eyepiece and for sake of example 1n this particular-instance I am using a multifocal or bifocal lens compr'1s-= ing the'usual distance field and a small read- 51 has ing field. The illumination of the lamp 5 hole 6 of the eyepiece animage of thetest scale 9 and, therefore, no inset of the reading;

object e7 will be visible as a confused image, its effect being to outline" the periphery of the reading or segmental field in contrast with the major or distant field. Next, the lens is moved until the edge of. the reading field is:

thexrequired number of lines down from" the center of the scale chart. jAs shown in Fig. VI, it is three lines-or three millimeters below the center, which means that the prescription calls for a distance field center three millimeters above the segment. mThe segment is also shown centered with "respect to the central line of the field is shown, but if-ithad been 'prescribed" it would be obtained by. using the vertical lines of the scale chart.

'37 are swung around so that the contacts 40 Next, the lens blank position, the clamp arm is swung over until the contact 54 is aligned with the lens in the lens holder, released so that the spring 59 will force the contact 54 against the lens holding it in place on the end thereof engage the margin of the lens, the. clips 40 engaging theouter surface and the periphery of the lens. This engagement is maintained because the arms 37 ex ert a spring pressure to hold the clips inengagement with th-elens. The lens blank being secured upon the plate 35, the handle is k then thrown back parallel with the arm 55 and the arm 55 is rotated about its pivot 57 to throw the lens contacting member 54 out of aligned position with the instrument. Next, move the handle 32 in either direction ,until the stops 53 engage the portion 33 of the handle and stop it so that the axis mark 36 on the lens holder 35 is identical withthe Zero 180 degree mark, i. e., in the horizontal meridian.

.The blank being in this position, press down on the handle 20 of the marking device,

The handle 60 is "then.

throwing up the pens 17 until they arein the planeof the axis of the instrument. Then push forward on the handle until the points of the pens 17 come in contact withand mark 7 the lens; The inner motion of the pen points is governed bythe' slide 10; This marks the prescribed axis ofthe cylinder. Next, grasp the handle 32 and turn the lens holder plate until the axial line 36 registers with the 90 degree mark on the protractor scale. Thisis done to furnish a calibration axis at right angles; tothecylinder axis for the purpose of centration. l

Now the lens shows the markfor the cylin der axis and also at an axis of degrees thereto. Next, remove the lens plate 35 from the support 27 and place it on the support 63 so thatthe holes on-the under side of the plate 35 engagethe pins 64. Next, the lens holder 70 is placed with its arms 71 between the upright69 of the support 65 and lowered upon the lens blank to which it'is cementitiously secured by the cementitious medium 72. This attachmentof the lens, holder to the lens blank should preferably be centric.

By using this mechanical'method of aligning the lens holder 7 O with the lens, the lens is" secured to the lens holder in proper axial alignment to assure that the prescription axis is ground thereon when it is placed in the surfacing machine and there has been'no guesswork in locating the center as it has been entirely automatic.

After-the lens'has. been secured to the lens holder, the lens holder with thelens is removed fromthe lens clamp and positioned in theusual prior art surfacing machine where. u the prescription curve is ground on the blank being held inthis From the foregoing description'i't wil-l'be seen that I have. primarilyproduced' a new ished lens 1 having the proper prescriptive value, that I have. greatly improved the prior artmethod of locating the positioning 1- points of alens blank byusinga magnifying:

lens system with proper: illumination of charts and test objects. It will :be seenthat I'have made visible, particularly in the case of multifocal'orbifocal lenses, the segmental field as fcontradistinguished from the dista'nce field, which has been ordinarily: invisibl'e, and by providing calibrated marks: upon my-scale chart I have been abl-e-undermagmfieation to locate theoptical center of the d1s-,-

tance field with respect to the edge oi the segmentalfield and to'inset or outset the sege mental field 'to required dimensions. have also provided simpleand'eflicient mean s off obtaining the cardinal calibration points for mylens while itis being operated upon. f It will alsobe seenthat the positioning points so necessaryi'n setting up a lens innprioper position "to be operated upon have been ob? tained either byopti-cal or mechanical means,

nothing being left to the judgment :or the eye of the operator. This renders possible the finishing of prescription'lens surfaces to a smaller tolerance than has hitherto, been obtainable. a Q

It will be particularly noted that the alignment of the lens for its positioning in the surfacingmachine is maintained from'the timethat the aligning points have been de-; termined until it is placed in the surfacing machine, no change having been madefrom the original setting of the device that located,

and marked these positioning features.

I have previously described the lenses 45,

and 46 as objective lenses which project an 3 image of the test object 47 to a position be-. yond the eyepiece 1 and behind the eye of' the observer. Thus, arranged the test object is invisible through the distant field of a multifocallens while at the sanie time it ap-' i pears visible in the reading field ranging 7 from a shadowy or mottled appearance Where the addition power of the reading field is.

low to a clear and distinct appearance where the addition power 1 is sufficiently high so that light emanatingfrom thetest object) shall, be brought by the collective action of the lenses4l5, a6 and? to focus on theretina of the observer. Av marked contrast is :thus produced between the appearance of the dis- Rtant field'as a clear, illuminated areavand the adjacent reading field whichshowsa more or less distinct View of the test object,

the general effect ofivhich is to cause the reading field to appear covered by more or -less shadowy 'markings' which by contrast V with the adjacent distant field which appears clear and Without such markings serves to,

render the boundary line between such fields easily visible; 1

Having described'my invention, claim a 1. The process of blocking lens blanks comprising determining the location "of the axis of the lens on a blank, securely clamping the lens blank to a holder in a desired position,

" mechanically marking an indication of said axis ofthe lens in said position in-the axis 1 meridian, marking the indication of a line normal thereto, placing the clamped lens blank and holder in a mechanical holder having engaging means to engage thefirst holder with the lens blank in aligned position thereon and having means to engage the lens blank holder of a lens (surfacing machine in said aligned position, and placing said'lens holder on thelens blank and in engagement with the engaging means of, the second holder, and se-V curing'the lens-holder to the lensbjlank in v said aligned position. 7

i i ing determining the location ofthe axes I of the lens on a blank, securely clamping the,

2. The process of blocking lensblanks comlens blank to-a holder in a desired position,

said holder being removably attached to the axes locating means, marking the axes on said blank while in clamped position, removing the holder and located lens blank from the axis locating means and placing them on a support having engaging means adaptedto definitely position the holder on said support and having aligning means definitely located with respect to the holder engaging means adapted to engage and position the lens blankholder of a lens surfacing machine in accurate relation to the marked lens blank, 1 placing said lens holder on the lens blank and in engagement with the'aligning means and secure. 7 ing the lens blank holder of the lens surfacing I said aligned machine to the lens blank in position. '1 q r 3; The process of blocking lensblanks comprising determining the location of the axes.

so? i of the lens on a blank, securely mounting the a lens blank on a temporary holder in a desired position determined bythe'location of the v v axes of the lens, said holder being removably attached to the axes locating means, marking the axes on said blank while in secured posi; tion on the temporary holder, removing the temporary holder and located lens blank from theaxis locating means and placing them on a support having engaging means to engage prising determining the location of the axes of the lens on a blank, securely mounting the lens blank on a temporaryholder in a desired position determined .by the location" of the axes of the lens, said holder being removably attached to the. axes locating means, marking the axes on said blank while-in secured posi-- tionon the temporary holder,'removing the) temporary holder and located lens blank from the axis locating means and placing them on a support having engagingmeans to engage the temporary holder with the lens blank in aligned position thereon and having means to engage a more permanent lens blank holder to support it in aligned position on the lens blank,' securing the. more permanent holder 7 i to the lens blank in said'alignedposition and" removing the temporary holder fromthe lens p blank.

' oLrLE o.,AL LEN. 

